Praise the Beast
by GigiPuff
Summary: Jack reflects on his actions  something like an aftermath of "Strong"


He felt so triumphant…

So powerful…

He finally had what he wanted…ultimate and complete control. This island belonged to him now. This was his home; there was nobody who could take it away from him. Yet, at the same time emptiness sat inside him. He felt he had just lost everything in one single action. True, Ralph had never been his, but…he still wanted him. Jack's heart burned for him despite the unrequited love. Light blues watched the calming ocean from the cliffs around Castle Rock. He imagined the bodies of Piggy and Simon floating deep under the surface, lifeless and still…Ralph's soon to join them. A part of Jack wished he never sliced that neck; that he had just convinced Ralph into joining his tribe. They could've spent the long sun-lit days on the beach or spent nights talking and listening to the silence of the jungle. Yes, the tribe hated Ralph for not only being an outsider, but for his love for a boy, but they wouldn't dare taunt Jack. He _was_ their chief after all.

'_I loved you…and you chose him.'_

He uttered these words to him seconds before he killed him. Jack was not sure what made him want to kill Ralph in the first place. At first he believed Ralph's power as chief did it; he gained control and Jack had none. Jack had managed to take that though. _Was _it because he had chose Simon? Perhaps. He never understood. He just knew he hated Ralph, and then loved him too.

"Chief," A voice said behind him.

Roger stood a few feet from Jack, his sharpened stick at his side and a look of concern on his face. Jack desired loneliness then, but he knew he had duties to fulfill. He ran a hand through his sun-bleached hair, and then spoke.

"What is it?"

"The twins got rid of his body…"

His body. That long, slim form that had lied headless in front of him moments ago. Jack then acknowledged the blood on his arms, legs and feet. He had the urge to cry; he held it back.

"Good," Jack said. "And the head?"

"Ready."

Jack nodded. He moved away from the cliff and back into the jungle. He didn't speak the whole way to Castle Rock. Roger did not press him either. Not due to being shocked at the sacrifice, but merely because Jack didn't talk to him. They all knew he had to address them first.

Once they reached camp, they found all the boys still sitting around the table. Crimson stained the rock now…a reminder of his deed. On the platform sat his head. An expression of despair etched across the handsome features as if Ralph had been ready to die. Perhaps he had been ready for months. His heart tore into pieces.

Roger took up the head, and silently he walked on. The littluns did their dance and chants as they walked down to the cave. They acted out the chasing of Ralph, calling out all the horrible names as Percival ran around screaming like a girl. Jack did not join in. He merely stared at the head Roger carried with him. Tears threatened to spill again.

He watched Roger shove his stick into the dirt in front of the gaping hole that was The Beast's Lair. He handed the head to Jack. Only the chief could make the offering. Jack restrained himself from breaking when he took the head of his former love.

"Oh mighty beast," He tried to keep his voice steady. "Please accept this gift as an offering of peace," Jack held Ralph's face in front of his own, ready to settle on the pike. "Prise de Beastie"

'_Praise the Beast'_

With a quick jerk of his arms, Jack stuck the head on the stick. He stared back into Ralph's eyes, wishing he could see them alive and happy like they used to be. The roar of jubilation from the boys echoed through the forest, which followed them all the way back to camp.

"You go on," He said to Roger. "I'll catch up."

Roger nodded and then turned his back. Jack turned to Ralph again. He put a hand through the fair-colored hair, feeling the dirt in it from weeks of remaining unwashed. Now the tears fell.

"Why?" He asked him. "Why couldn't you just stay with me? Why couldn't you be mine? Now you're gone…"

A kiss on those cold dead lips said the rest.


End file.
